Sittin' in the Kitchen

I interview Michael Schwartz in the lobby of The Raleigh South Beach. He explains why he moved to Miami from Philadelphia 20 years ago and how he has been at the helm of a food and beverage empire that includes a lovely restaurant at this hotel. Esther Williams performed her famous swimming scenes in the hotel's stunning pool.

Dr. Vera Tarman is medical director of Renascent Treatment Centre in Toronto and a confessed food addict. In her book, Food Junkies, she outlines her controversial approach to food addiction. Tarman advocates abstinence from trigger foods such as sugar, fat, salt, flour and caffeine.

A chef and her husband leave the city of Toronto to restore a vintage farmhouse near the village of Creemore in southern Ontario. Their focus is locally-grown seasonal food carefully prepared at the lovely bed and breakfast Mad Maple.

I helped organize three gala fundraisers for which a team of Toronto's top female chefs donated their time and food. The money raised helped renovate and equip Sistering's wonderful new kitchen. We celebrated with a kitchen party.

I chat with Danny Zimmerman about how his father Zoltan was one of the first Jewish merchants in downtown Toronto's Kensington Market. Decades later, in early 2015, they are handing the torch to Potsothy "Pots" Sallapa and a new group of food vendors.

I chat with Susan Wisniewski whose family has owned and operated the glorious, vintage Harbord Bakery in downtown Toronto for 70 years.

Chef Alida Solomon owns a busy Italian restaurant in downtown Toronto. Its name, Tutti Matti, means "everybody's crazy" and she admits she must be to have chosen this adrenaline-charged career.

I go to the source when sleuthing the hot topic of Southern food. Charlotte Observer food editor Kathleen Purvis relishes the chance to give her take on grits, cornbread and, of course, barbecue.

I chat by phone with Julia Child's longtime personal assistant Stephanie Hersh from her home in New Zealand in 2012.

I interview Judith Jones, Julia Child's longtime editor and good friend, at her Upper East Side apartment in 2012.